The event organiser, Arwen Lewis, says: ‘The idea came from a write up in the Vegan Society magazine of someone doing this in the US.

‘Earthlings is a powerful film but it’s difficult to persuade people to watch it. So this guy offered fellow students $5 and free vegan food to watch it, and got an audience of around 200. Lots of people refused the money after watching the film and had plenty of questions about what they’d seen, and veganism in general.

‘After I read about it, I posted in a vegan group on Facebook to see if anyone would be inclined to donate to a crowdfunder if I did the same thing in Edinburgh. People said they would, and a bunch of people said they wanted to do it where they live too.

‘We’ll have information about veganism available at the screenings, along with emotional support, and we think this can have a real impact on people’s awareness of the many problems with society’s attitude towards animals.

‘All money left over will be going to Nation Earth, the makers of the documentary, and they are aware of the event, and providing permissions for each screening.

‘At the moment we’re running a crowdfunder to pay for the venues and the money to pay the audiences, along with vegan treats. That runs out on 15th February, and we’re currently at just over 10% of our £4.5k target.’